Evaluation: Question 1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Final Product: Music Video

Final Product: Magazine Advert

Final Product: Digipak

Evaluation: Question 3) What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

For my advanced portfolio I had to create a campaign for the release of my music video. This included a digipak and magazine advert to accompany the music video. Once the product was complete it was essential for us to gain audience feedback in order to ensure we created a conventional product which would be determined on the opinions of our target audience. We decided to gain feedback through different stages of our production as this would help us stay on track when creating the conventional music video. We also did this, as by gaining audience feedback through different stages gave us improvements to make along the way ensuring a successful result. From this, I learnt how to develop and create a product that is conventional to the genre I chose which was Hip-Hop/Rap.

Target Audience:

Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap as the song is “No Role Modelz” by J-Cole.

Age:  Targeted at ages between 16-30

Gender: Both genders are targeted.

Ethnicity: Minorities

Occupation: C2-E

Hobbies and Interests: There are no specific hobbies or interests that our audience is expected to take part in, however, they may be interested in going out and living a very sociable life.

Questionnaire and Graphs:

During the initial planning stages I carried out a questionnaire in order to gain valuable feedback for my music video that was being created. Through this, I was able to identify my target audience as I asked specific questions on the genre of my music video, which was Hip-Hop/Rap. After gaining feedback from my questionnaire I created graphs in order to then decide what to include in the music video. I was then clear of the audience’s expectations and was able to implement these ideas.

My questionnaire:

From this, I learnt what was conventional to the Hip-Hop/Rap genre where I was then able to implement these opinions into my music video.

Evidence of how I implemented my feedback into my production:

The key questions and results:

From these results it is clear that the audience want the music video to be solely focused on the artist. This suggests that the majority of the music video should be artist orientated so the audience will feel a closer connection to him/her. Therefore, we were able to include the artist performing his song throughout the music video fulfilling the audience's expectations.

From these results it is clear that the audience prefer for women to be sexualised within the music video. This suggests that in the Hip-Hop genre it is conventional for women to be portrayed in a sexual manner explaining why the audience said this. Therefore, we were able to include a sexualised female where she is only wearing a shirt and dancing around expressing this role.

From these results it is clear that the audience prefer for the lyrics to match the visuals suggesting a narrative to take place. This implies that in a Hip-Hop music video there are usually narratives to be told as the lyrics match the visuals. Therefore, we were able to match the lyrics to visuals as our lyrics were story telling, which is why we included the narrative.

From these results it is clear that the audience prefer a male and female relationship to be shown. This suggests that it is conventional to the  Hip-Hop genre which is why we included this. We did this by the artist reminiscing on his past relationship where he was heartbroken.









How did this help you make decisions?

By giving out questionnaires and receiving feedback helped me make key decisions in what to include in my music video. This was significant because this was the only way to engage with the audience to find out their opinions on the music video. This also helped me make key decisions when identifying the target audience of the genre and without knowing this would make it extremely difficult when making the music video. Looking at the results enabled me to make decisions purely on what the audience wants which would make the planning process much quicker and easier as the primary research had already been done. For example, vital questions like "Do you think there should be a male and female relationship shown?" suggests how specific the questions were and how without knowing the answer to this would have put me at a disadvantage in what to include in the music video.


The importance of receiving critical feedback after our initial rough cut:

We showed the first draft/rough cut of our music video as it was important that the target audience would view it and give the final feedback of the production. This was done in order to gain feedback for the last time and finalise the production before publishing it. We held a focus group and invited the AS Media class and also the AS and A2 Film class, as well as people who like the genre, to view our product and give us the critical feedback for us to make the last changes. Therefore, by making these small changes will ensure success once put onto YouTube.


Focus Group pictures:

Holding this focus group allowed me to learn from my audience because I was able to gain the final feedback from my audience before publishing it onto YouTube where no changes could be made after this.

Below are some comments I received: 

Nicole (18):



Jordan (19):





Ella (17):




Tyler (18):




After gathering feedback from the focus group, my group was able to go back and make the final changes to my music video. This benefited us as we was able to improve the parts our target audience said needed changing, ensuring our final music video would be successful.


AUDIENCE FEEDBACK OF MY FINAL PRODUCT:


Link to YouTube: 

https://youtu.be/k6YwCPizQUQ

Why did you put your work on YouTube:

By putting my work on YouTube enabled it to be accessible by audiences internationally as it is the biggest platform in the world for uploading videos. Also, but uploading it onto YouTube would ensure more views, likes and comments which will help us gain more feedback. This will ensure that our music video will become successful.

Positive Comments:

• "The effects are sick!"
• "Love the editing techniques used!"

From this audience feedback I learnt that my audience was impressed with the effects I used as well as the editing techniques. This suggests that I was able to satisfy my target audience which proves I was able to create a successful product.



Negative Comments:

• "Narrative could have been portrayed a little clearer"
• "Performance was inconsistent, at times really good and at times poor."

From this audience feedback I learnt that my audience would have preferred the narrative to be clearer as well as performance inconsistency suggesting I was not able to meet this expectation, however, overall have created a successful music video.



What did you learn from this audience feedback in terms of whether you created a conventional and successful music video?

The audience feedback taught me that I did in fact create a conventional and successful music video. This is because of the positive comments and many likes we gained on YouTube. Although there were some negative comments we was able to change these, and my group was still able to follow the conventions of a Hip-Hop/Rap genre where my music video fits into.



Facebook and Instagram:


Why did you put your work on Facebook and Instagram:

By putting my work on Facebook and Instagram enabled the music video to be shown on a more personal level. This means that only my friends and family are able to view it and give feedback. These social media sites also help to gain feedback from the audience and determine whether our music video was successful.

Positive Comments:

• "The projector scenes look great! Well done!"
• "Really enjoyed the narrative"

From this audience feedback I learnt that my audience was impressed with the projector scenes as well as the narrative. This suggests I was able to satisfy my audience and develop their opinions which proves I was able to create a successful music video.

Negative Comments:

• "Narrative could have been portrayed a little clearer"
• "Performance was inconsistent, at times really good, and at times poor."

From this audience feedback I learnt that my audience was not able to understand the narrative as clearly as I had wished, as well as performance inconsistency which suggests I was not able to meet this expectation however, overall have created a successful music video.

What did you learn from this audience feedback in terms of whether you created a conventional and successful music video?

Overall, I was able to use various media platforms to promote my music video which ensured feedback from the audience. This was able to determine whether my product was conventional and successful. On the whole, I gained positive feedback on my music video however, improvements can still be made. This helped me understand the audience's perspective in what they preferred to see. Therefore, the feedback I received about my music video has helped me and if I could create this music video again, I would plan the negative comments in more detail to ensure it would not happen again.

Evaluation: Question 2) How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

Research and Planning - Advert: Drafts of Advert

As a group, we created drafts for our advert in order to get a rough idea on what we want to create for our final idea. We also asked for feedback so we could look at the positives and negatives of our draft. With this feedback, we was able to then create the next draft after this to improve.

This is our first draft:

This is some of my feedback:

Positive:

• Clear information on the album availability etc.
• Consistency in theme colours etc with the digipak.
• Ratio and the framing of the picture is perfectly executed.

Negative:

• Easier to know who is the artist in the image.
• Better typography needs to be included and remove the white areas around logo.
• Make the artist name stand out more.

This is our second draft:

This is some of my feedback:


Positive:

• Typography unique 
• Main focus is artist

Negative:

• Abit dull
• Picture should look more meaningful

Research and Planning - Digipak: Drafts of digipak

As a group, we created drafts for our digipak in order to get a rough idea on what we want to create for our final idea. We also asked for feedback so we could look at the positives and negatives of our draft. With this feedback, we was able to then create the next draft after this to improve.

This is our first draft:

This is some of my feedback:

Positives:

• Images are good.
• Clear theme.
• Consistency in overall style.

Negatives:

• Artist name bigger.
• Try and arrange faces a little better.
• Typography on the back.
• Information missing.

This is our second draft:

This is some of my feedback:

Positives:
- Colours are consistent
-Clear artist image

Negatives:
-Put same effect from the front on the back.

-Tracklist typography clearer

-So much cloud, what is the purpose of this? 

-Doesn't look like the same campaign, top two to the bottom two.

Planning: Editing

Editing is the different techniques used to put a clip together which attach different scenes to one another. By using different edits, the audience will stay engaged with the music video. Editing is one of the most important elements when creating a music video as without this the video will be boring and not effective disengaging the audience from it. These are some of the edits my group plan to use. 

Kaleidoscope editing:

Using kaleidoscope editing will allow us to give our music video an abstract side to it. By placing more than one frame of the same footage, it will capture the audiences attention, making them want to see even more. This edit will also be beneficial to us because it will allow us to create suspense and confusion within the narrative of our music video which is much needed in order for it to be successful. This type of edit is unique which will add an element of excitement to our music video. 

Slow motion:

Slow motion editing will be used within our music video to emphasise key parts of our narrative that we would like to stand out for our target audience. Making these key elements from the narrative stand out using the slow motion edits will allow the audience to grasp a better understanding of the narrative we have created and the type of message we are trying to put across. 

Projection:

When thinking about creating our product we decided to bring two worlds into one by using the idea of projection. As we display our artist’s star image we will run a projection of extra footage of them lip syncing as the narrative unfolds amongst them. This is a really intriguing way for the artist and audience to connect as they are both seeing the same story. It also shows a clearer side to the artists morals and the message behind the music. 

Fast editing:

Fast editing will be used in my music video when the pace of the music picks up. The fast the music plays the faster our edits will be. Also, on a beat drop the edits will also be fast to create a 'hype' around the song for the audience. Fast editing also creates suspense making the audience more engaged and willing to watch the rest of the music video. 

Jump Cut:

Jump cuts will be used in my music video in order to keep a constant change of edit rather than one long shot. By jump cutting the shots, will draw attention to the process of filmmaking. This can be used in a strategic and creative way when making the music video. This can also focus the audience on the narrative of the story by using this edit as it draws immediate attraction. 

Overall, these are some of the edits we believe should be used as they would be the most effective in making our music video. This will also ensure us success and publicity when the music video is released.

Evaluation: Question 4) How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Research and Planning - Digipak: Creative brief

Date: 11/12/2015

Album Title/artist: ‘Tribulations’ by Lamarr Carter

Project Manager: Emine Ibrahim and Katie Yiacoumi

Release Date: 5^th February 2015

Product Overview:

Lamarr Carter is a young German/ African American, born rapper who was brought up in North Carolina, America. His career started as a young man rapping for fun in high school. Lamarr realised that people started to enjoy listening to the music he was creating, this drove him to doing everything he can to make it in the music industry. Along with his new born passion for music, Lamarr came out with 2 mix tapes within a year which went viral all over the internet. This captured the attention of representatives at the record label Roc Nation and also led to him being signed and releasing his first album. The album did just as well as both of his mix tapes and brought him a larger fan base. There is a high demand for new music from Lamarr since his success has brought new listeners who can’t wait to hear what he has to say.

The Album Concept:

What is it?

We want to create an album cover which is quite simplistic but intricate. We will show his star image in a way which is not over dramatic but still distinctive. Our goal is to please our loyal audience that we already have and also attract new people to the artist’s music. We want the theme of our album to match with the theme of our music video we will be making for ‘No Role Modelz’. The album will be very honest and reflect real life situations that Lamarr has been through, so really just letting his fans witness his life story through music. The concept of the album aims to engage listeners into knowing the ins and outs of our artists climb to success.

Why are we doing it?

Our goal with Lamarr Carter is to bring him to a new forefront of international success. As an artist with quite a niche audience we would like to make sure that this campaign brings him a new type of audience and also helps people outside of his target audience understand him more as a person. So a main purpose of ours will be to attract our audience with the type of colours, images and typography we use within our campaign. As a team working on this campaign it is important that the themes of the artist and their music run throughout the digipak as this plays a vital role on the audiences reaction and opinion. Themes such as love, envy, struggle, crime and poverty will run through the album, this is important to point out because the audience we are trying to reach for may be able to relate to them which will then entice them to endure in the products we are creating. 

Audience demographics:

• Target Audience: 16-25 as we have found from previous research such as the questionnaires that this is the most popular ages to listen to Hip-Hop/Rap .
• Gender: Both genders appeal to our genre as the themes in Hip-Hop/Rap appeal to both genders e.g. love/struggle.
• Social Category: C-E as our genre relates to the lower class as the categories above C tend to listen to more classical music. 

Comparable Products:
Both these digipaks can compare to what I plan to create as my final digipak. This is because the artist is the main focus on both digipaks. The colours are dark and there is low-key lighting which set the mysterious atmosphere for the album. On both digipaks the only information on there is the album title. This suggests that this is the only important factor, and the name of the artist is not displayed suggesting that the artist is already powerful enough.

How will we know it worked?

We will know it worked through the number of sales our artist gains. By looking at the figures it will be clear if our artist has been successful. Also, the media will play a huge role in this as they will be writing articles and following our artist around which will prove that our artist has become successful. Also, the number of followers our artist will gain on social media will show how much publicity our artist has gained. 

Launch dates:

Press campaign: 10th January 2016

TV Launch: 30th January 2016

Album Release: 5th February 2016